Readings

Today's For Today:

"Humor is a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer." Reinhold Miebuhr

"One of the best things I can hope to find at an OA meeting is laughter. There is something so pure, so cleansing and healing about laughing at ourselves, it is truly akin to prayer.
When I laugh at the easy humor of a speaker, I am aware of that sense of awe one feels in the presence of profound mystery.

For today: Thank God for the gift of laughter, and for those who carry the message on its wings."

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Today's Voices of Recovery

"Those of us who live this program don't simply carry the message; we are the message. Each day that we live well, we are well, and we embody the joy of recovery." OA 12 & 12

"When I first walked into the rooms of Overeaters Anonymous, I was like the candle whose light is flickering and close to going out. i was sick in mind, body, and spirit; I was hopeless.
Many OA members describe OA as the last house on the block. I do not know if that is true since I do not know where the block begins or ends. I do know that what I found in OA can be found only in the heart and mind of another recovering compulsive overeater. The flickering light that I came in with became stronger, and the hopelessness turned into hopefulness.
I can be a living example or a dying example of how the program works. My courage to recover and my experiences in OA serve as an example to those who know me. I represent and carr the message of hope.

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Today's In This Moment

"In This Moment, I am real.

In my group's meeting, there is a glass-encased collection of beautiful and unusual dolls. As a codependent, I was like one of those dolls."

OMG! I *wrote * a poem about that in high school. At one point it said, "like the Royal Doultons in my curio - encased in their resplendent beauty" or some such thing. How I was trapped. Waiting. Needed to be saved...
The teacher actually wrote on it, in hurried angry penmanship, "Lynn - you were SUPPOSED to write the TRUTH about YOUR life!
I had!!!!!! I was crying out for help.
It feels *good * to see this here now.

Okay. It goes on to say:

"I tried to be perfect and bent myself into any shape just to be picked."
Yes! Me!

"I dressed up, sat on a shelf" -- Maybe this is why I got fat! As a resentment/reaction against that!?!

"I dressed up, sat on a shelf, and waited for someone to start my life. If only I were pretty enough and patient enough, someone would pick me. My life would be the 'happily ever after' of fairy tales.

In recovery, I live my life my way; I choose myself. I don't wait for a friend, a job, or a mate to start my life. I am a person with unique gifts, talents and characteristics for which I am grateful. I have all I need. I am not a doll. I am real."

O.
M.
G.

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Today's The Language of Letting Go

"As a matter of fact, prayer is the only real action in the full sense of the word, because prayer is the only thing that changes one's character. A change in character, or a change in soul, is a real change." Emmet Fox, The Sermon on the Mount

"Erica Jong has said that we are spiritual beings who are human. Praying and meditating are ways we take care of our spirit. Prayer and meditation are disciplines suggested by the Eleventh Step of Twelve Step recovery programs: Al-Anon, CoDA, Adult Children of Alcoholics, and others.
Prayer and meditation are not necessarily connected to organized religion. Prayer and meditation are ways to improve our personal relationhship with a Higher Power to benefit ourselves, our life, and our growth. Praying is ow we connect with God. We don't pray because we have to; we pray because we want to. It is how we link our soul to our Source.
We're learning to take care of our emotions, our mind, and our physical needs. We're learning to change our behaviors. But we're also learning to take care of our spirit, OUR SOUL, because that is where all true change begins.
Each time we talk to God, we are transformed. Each time we connect with our hHgher Power, we are heard, touched, and changed for the best.

Today, I will practice prayer and meditation. Whether I feel desperate, uneasy, or peaceful, I will make the effort to connect with my Higher Power, at least for a moment today.

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